Once Upon a New York City

Hello world J I must first apologize for my short sabbatical for I was busy crossing things off of my bucket list and falling in love with yet another city. Christmas night my best friend of nearly two decades and I embarked on an alluring ten day journey to the ever enchanting New York City. I’m no stranger to being captivated by the beauty of a city, earlier this year London stole part of my heart and then Washington D.C changed my life, but I will say New York City was by far the most mesmerizing. The second we stepped off the airplane (after layering ourselves enough to sleep on the streets of Antarctica) I could feel my mood and complete state of mind begin to uplift. I felt as though I walked out of the end of a very hard year/harsh reality and into my own personal fairytale. Our first stop was Times Square and let me just say, those lights really will inspire you. Going from complete darkness on a side street to turning the corner and having to squint your eyes was something I’d never experienced (unless you count being blinded by the bathroom light at 4 am). After a short walk through Times Square we made the hour long odyssey (it really is an odyssey) to Poughkeepsie where we (unknowingly) spent the next two days straight thanks to a lovely blizzard. Stormi had never seen snow before so this was exceptionally exciting for her and mildly exciting for me. Don’t get me wrong, I do adore the pristine fluffiness and exquisite beauty of snow as it sits on trees and lands in your hair but I absolutely could not wait to get back to the city that had me at hello. After two (very relaxing) days in Poughkeepsie we jumped on a train and headed to the concrete jungle. When I say we “jumped” on the train, I’m being dramatic. We actually sat on the train for nearly two hours, reading our New York City site seeing book and “oooing and ahhhing” at the exquisite countryside. The first day we walked around everywhere and ended the day at Ground Zero. The gut-wrenching, knot-in-throat feeling that comes with walking beside the memorial wall, reading the dedications, seeing the cards and flowers that cover the sidewalks, and looking down on the (nearly built up) terrorist attack site is indescribable and something I believe everyone in this country should experience. Our tour guide was a first responder firefighter/survivor of 9.11 and his story brought me to tears. Something I never thought about until listening to him speak is the aftermath for the survivors. For me, (and millions more) 9.11 happened, it was on the news for what seemed like an eternity, it was sad but then I moved on. For him, and for all of the survivors and families of those that didn’t, 9.11 is a part of their every day and will be for the rest of their lives. The replaying of the events, the replaying of the last time they said “I love you”, the PTSD and the loss they all suffered is something they live through every day, something they should be applauded for, and something I could never fathom.

The next couple days were spent walking through the city, learning the subway routes and trying to stay warm. Central Park is beautiful, especially with snow covering nearly every inch of every hill. The Empire State Building made me nauseas but the view was breathtaking (make sure you spend the extra 15 bucks and go all the way to the top), Canal Street is definitely an experience worth partaking from the sellers stalking you on the streets to feeling like you’re making a drug deal when they hustle you into random restaurants, your stories will be timeless. The food in Little Italy (and basically the entire city) is something to write home about, the pizza is by far the best I’ve had, and the desserts are literally mouth watering. I didn’t even consider the hours of cardio I would have to put into working it all off as I took every single Heavenly bite. The Statue of Liberty is not as big as I thought she would be, nevertheless still Lady Lib. I don’t eat hot dogs but according to Stormi, they were phenomenal, as were the (very large) pretzels. Now, for the two things no one talks about but I think everyone should experience. Serendipity 3, and Ellen’s Stardust Diner. If you’re familiar with the movie “Serendipity” you may know which restaurant I’m referring to. Serendipity 3 is a charming little place off of

East 60^th Street

that serves a sinfully delicious dessert known as Frrrozen Hot Chocolate. Ever since I was twelve years old I dreamed of walking through the doors of this quaint restaurant and ordering one. As I got older the thought of randomly meeting John Cusack added to the allure. Frrrozen Hot Chocolate comes in a large enough for two glass and as I’m sure many of you are wondering, it’s cold and worth every single second of the ten year, two hour wait. I was like a kid on Christmas Eve, nearly bursting with excitement when the host called our names. Inside, there are Tiffany lamps hanging from almost every inch of the ceiling, lights, clocks, mirrors and decorative bulbs everywhere. This place is the epitome of delightful and I was completely enthralled.

Ellen’s Stardust Diner is a place a very sweet girl from Florida’s Hospital for Children told me I HAD to visit. It’s a 1950’s themed diner with pictures of Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, all of the Subway Girls, diner seats, neon lights, 50’s cars and vinyl records lining the walls. The special thing about this place is that all of the wait staff are auditioning for Broadway and they take turns singing songs from different musicals as well as some off the radio. These people don’t just sing, they put it all into these performances, walking across the tables, involving the customers, and putting on quirky glasses and outfits. This diner was by far one of my favorite, most memorable experiences in the city.

If you have a chance, and about ten extra minutes, take the 6 train downtown and when you get to the Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall stop DON’T GET OFF. They will tell you to get off, and you’ll feel like you probably should get off being that everyone else is and now they’re staring at you for your lack of movement but trust me, you won’t want to miss what happens next. As the train makes it’s turn around to become an uptown train you will pass a terminal called “City Hall” it was built and never used and it’s absolutely marvelous. I came across a random article about it before the trip and am SO thankful I did. Make sure you’re paying attention, you stop in front of it for literally 15 seconds (during which you will begin to freak out and assume the train is stopped forever and you’re never going to return, thus implying you will die on the 6 never to be heard from again) and then it continues uptown.

New Year’s Eve is something I will remember for the rest of my life. We got to Times Square around 4 pm and walked right in. After standing around the outside of the barricade for a while, we were ushered in and with in five minutes had made some amazing new friends. I like to refer to them as our “Canadians” and they were HILARIOUS. The next 8 hours or so went by as quickly as they possibly could thanks to this group. The night was filled with games, group hugs to keep warm, taking pictures of the cute boys in the distance, learning about Canada, talking about Florida, eating a box of $30 pizza, and laughing so hard at times I couldn’t breathe. I can’t leave out our other sets of new friends coming from places such as, South Carolina, Minnesota, Tennessee, Germany, and North Dakota. The last hour of the night was by far the most exciting hour of my life up to this point. From the lights to the music to the confetti flying around I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face. Ringing in the New Year in Times Square is a MUST for everyone. An absolute must.

New York City completely captured my heart and as sad as I was to leave, I couldn’t wait to sleep in my bed again…I got over sleeping in my bed after the first night and am now dying to go back to the city. I’ll be the person renting a tiny Brownstone in Brooklyn for some ridiculous amount of money, and then spend the next five years and extra cash renovating it to my liking just to be there every single day. Until then, it’s back to the grind with work and school but don’t worry New York, we shall meet again soon.

A special thanks to Shena (momma numero dos) for the lovely hotel room, to Jeremy for being my personal tour guide for a night, to all of the amazing people we met, to Dana and company for everything we put you through and of course, to Stormi for being my partner in crime!

“One belongs to New York instantly,

one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years.”  

-Thomas Wolfe (one of my FAVORITE authors, thanks to Ms. Pera)